Oprah’s Super Soul Special with Amy Purdy: The Power of Visualization

Podcast: Oprah’s Super Soul
Host: Oprah Winfrey
Guest: Amy Purdy
Date: October 1, 2025

Episode Overview

In this deeply moving episode, Oprah sits down with Paralympian and motivational speaker Amy Purdy to discuss the transformative power of visualization, resilience in the face of unthinkable adversity, spiritual awakenings, and embracing a life without limits. Together, they explore Amy’s near-death experience, her journey from losing both legs to becoming a world-class snowboarder, and her deep belief in the strength found through love and visualization. The conversation is honest, spiritual, and incredibly inspiring, with Amy sharing not only her story but profound insights for living an “inspired life.”

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Leap to "Dancing With the Stars" ([01:00]–[03:45])

• Amy describes the courage it took to say yes to competing on Dancing With the Stars as a double amputee with no dancing experience:
  • “It took every bit of me to do what I did.” (Amy, [02:47])
  • She acknowledges her fears and doubts but listens to her intuition:
    • “My head was saying no, but inside I felt that it was possible if I worked hard enough.” (Amy, [04:21])
• Amy’s aim is to inspire others to see possibilities within themselves:
  • “I want them to actually feel something within themselves and say, oh, I can do that as well… we’re all the same, we all have different circumstances.” (Amy, [04:54])

2. Choosing Not to Be a Victim ([05:18]–[06:52])

• Amy recounts the moment before her amputation:
  • Made a clear decision not to be a victim, but to help others, and to snowboard again:
    • “Going into the operating room, I thought, one, I’m not going to be a victim to this situation… the second thought was, when I figure this out, I will somehow help other people… and the third was that I was going to snowboard that year.” (Amy, [05:30])

3. A Spiritual Encounter Before Illness ([07:18]–[10:56])

• Life-changing moment with a mysterious stranger during a massage session, who asks, “Have you crossed over yet to the other side?” (Stranger/Amy, [08:22])
  • Amy reveals she had a persistent feeling that “something more was going to happen” in her life.
  • The stranger predicts a transformative event and tells her not to be afraid when it happens.
• Oprah notes the profound foreshadowing:
  • “Anybody I’ve ever heard who’s crossed over had to go through some kind of devastating thing to get there.” (Oprah, [10:41])

4. The Onset of Illness and Near-Death ([14:46]–[24:13])

• Amy details contracting bacterial meningitis, the rapid onset of symptoms, and her near-death experience:
  • “I heard a voice say, Amy, get up and look in the mirror… I glance down to the floor and I see that my feet are purple.” (Amy, [15:46])
• Her account of dying, seeing silhouettes, and being offered a choice:
  • “They were saying, you can come with us or you can stay… I thought, there is no way I am ready to give up this stuff (the sensory joys of life).” (Amy, [20:25], [21:12])
  • The essence she brings back:
    • “No matter what happens in your life, just know that it will all make sense in the end.” (Amy, [24:13])
  • The memory of the stranger’s advice echoes: “Don’t be afraid.” (Stranger, [24:39])

5. The Power of Environment in Recovery ([24:47]–[25:42])

• Amy’s mother’s protective stance in the hospital:
  • “Nobody was to come into your space… unless they were bringing positive energy. There’d be no speaking of death, no speaking of how hard it was going to be.” (Oprah, [25:03])
  • Amy confirms she felt even a negative thought could have tipped her over ([25:42]).

6. Finding Strength Through Presence ([28:19]–[29:21])

• Amy and Oprah connect on the importance of staying present:
  • “The way I got through it is just staying from this moment to that moment… for you, same thing?” (Oprah, [28:19])
  • Amy agrees: “I was forced into that place. I was forced into the moment when I was in kidney failure and my lungs were hemorrhaging…” (Amy, [28:57])

7. The Miraculous Mind-Body Connection ([29:21]–[30:18])

• Amy describes ‘phantom sensations’ — a continued awareness of her feet despite amputation:
  • “I have to say something that is pretty amazing… I’ve stepped outside and felt a wet raindrop on my foot. And I look down and there’s a raindrop. So I feel it.” (Amy, [29:25])

8. Visualization: Rewriting the Story ([30:18]–[33:55])

• Amy explains visualization as a survival tool and empowering force:
  • “In my worst moments… is when I’ve done my most visualizing.” (Amy, [30:40])
  • She shares the pivotal moment after losing her legs:
    • “If my life was a book and I was the author, how would I want this story to go?… I want to see myself walking again gracefully… I saw myself snowboarding again. And I visualized it so strongly… I could feel the wind against my face…” (Amy, [31:45]-[33:13])
• Oprah sums up: “If you can see it and believe it, then you can achieve it.” ([33:55])

9. Life, Death, and “The Other Side” ([34:03]–[34:55])

• Amy reflects on loss of fear around death and what comes after:
  • “So I can say my faith lies in that there is something. And that feels good. It’s not just the end. There’s no way. How could it be? Love is so—you can’t see it, but you can feel it… how does that not continue?” (Amy, [34:55])

10. Living an Inspired Life ([35:23]–[36:30])

• Amy accepts her mission to live as an example, not to be seen as “special,” but to inspire others’ own courage:
  • “I want people to not look at my story and say, oh, it’s amazing what she’s done. That’s so inspiring. I want them to also feel that they have that inside of themselves.” (Amy, [35:23])
  • On fulfillment: “I’ve had all these little whispers throughout my life… You’re meant to do more. And now those whispers have quieted down. I feel like, because I’m doing it.” (Amy, [36:20])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Amy’s guiding question:

  “If my life was a book and I was the author, how would I want this story to go?”
  (Amy, [31:45])

• On love as the highest power:

  “I believe in love. That’s why love creates everything. It creates the world we live in, it creates us. It’s energy, it’s gratitude, it’s purpose, it’s everything. It’s everything positive is love. I believe in love.”
  (Amy, [22:29])

• On choosing life and embracing possibility:

  “No matter what happens in your life, just know that it will all make sense in the end.”
  (Amy, [24:13])

• On visualizing one’s way out of crisis:

  “If you can see it and you can feel it and you believe it, then it is completely possible.”
  (Amy, [33:40])

• Oprah’s reflection on presence:

  “The way I got through it is just staying from this moment to that moment… Just, what do I do now?”
  (Oprah, [28:19])

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Amy’s decision to say yes to Dancing With the Stars: [01:00]–[04:21]
• Spiritual foreshadowing and the stranger encounter: [07:18]–[10:56]
• The meningitis story, near-death, and comeback: [14:46]–[24:29]
• The role of positivity in healing: [24:47]–[25:42]
• Power of the present moment and visualization: [28:19]–[33:55]
• Amy’s insights on death, love, and life’s purpose: [34:03]–[36:30]

Tone and Atmosphere

This episode is reflective, sincere, intimate, and profoundly uplifting—bearing both the soul-searching warmth of Oprah and the raw authenticity of Amy’s journey. Amy’s vulnerability and practical wisdom create a space where listeners are invited to see beyond their own perceived limitations and imagine new possibilities for living and loving fully.

Conclusion

Amy Purdy’s story is one of fierce perseverance, deep spirituality, and the daily, courageous act of imagining a better life. Her conversation with Oprah will inspire anyone facing adversity—to trust inner guidance, embrace the unknown, and use visualization as a means of transformation. Ultimately, the episode is a call to all listeners not just to admire those who overcome, but to realize the same power lives in them.